Comment from Cardinal Pell regarding riots in Sutherland Shire

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
12/12/2005

The Cronulla riots and the Maroubra reprisals were a disgrace. All people of goodwill should reject the extremists in both camps and work together so that this is the end of major disturbances, not the beginning of something worse.

Mob violence is totally opposed to the spirit of our Australian Christmas celebrations. We should use this pre-Christmas time to let the dust settle so we can identify the best way forward.

This trouble has been brewing on the beaches and in the suburbs for some years and was made worse by alcohol and possibly by marijuana.

Everyone should be free to go to any beach and be free from harassment, whatever their background. Violent action by vigilante groups anywhere is not acceptable.

I fully support the following statement of the Police Commissioner, Mr Ken Moroney:

“It’s a case of people of goodwill, and they are out there, of getting them to sit down and just saying  ‘let’s draw from what’s occurred, not only yesterday, but certainly in the lead up to yesterday’.

If we’re going to find some realistic, fair dinkum solutions to this problem, then we’ve got to be  able  to sit down around a table and talk to each other.

Beyond the rhetoric and beyond the talk though there has to be a whole range of actions.

And I absolutely guarantee you that at the forefront of those actions will be a strong law enforcement  approach.”

Mr Moroney said it had to be a “whole of government, whole of community solution.”

Local Catholic communities and authorities are prepared to cooperate in any useful way to foster harmony and eliminate violence.